stunning depresion-era zettler-executed windows extracted from park view church

nearly a week after spending several consecutive days devoted to carefully and painstakingly extracting "munich style" art glass windows executed by f.x. zettler and drehobl brothers, i'm still incredibly exhausted and applying copious amount of tiger balm to my arms to ease the pain and calm the trembles from countless hours of using hammer and chisel.

from the get go, i dragged my feet on this project, since i do not "connect" with churches. i have always felt uneasy disrupting the sanctity of the space and the artifacts used to worship a higher-being. for at least a decade i've been mostly successful in avoiding this type of salvage. before, i focused on the removal of ornament from majestic movie palaces, hospitals (and the morgues within), hundreds of houses and commercial buildings - pre and post-fire, even a sprawling foundry complex established in 1879 by a. finkl, who emerged from a small shop to several simply by devising a chisel that was used to remove stubborn mortar from bricks salvaged from the great chicago fire of 1871. however, and with very little time remaining, i knew damn well the wreckers - who already smashed the neighboring school - were going to pull the church down regardless. to the wreckers, the ornament was mainly an afterthought - a quick way to make an extra buck without making any effort on their part.

foolishly, i pushed my schedule around to devote a stretch of uninterrupted time with laser-like focus to remove those windows. i simply could not stand to see them get smashed.

at first, i was angry with myself for taking the time to do this - so many other concurrent projects needed my attention, not to mention i wasn't being compensated much to remove the windows. strictly abiding by having a "business sense," anyone would have walked. however, my passion often overrules common sense and there i was, on top of a ladder carefully chipping away at the stone channels that secured the panels tightly in place.

as more and more panels were removed the momentum grew. i revised old methods i had previously used to extract windows embedded directly into the stone which tremendously boosted the rate at which the windows were removed. once the halfway mark was reached i began to feel satisfaction in knowing that the windows were going to be safe - given a second life somewhere else where they would be appreciated. that internal feeling grew stronger as each panel was pulled out and away from the stone, giving me an added boost to push on despite arriving each day with bruised and blistered fingers.

it wasn't about money - never was - just a necessary duty or obligation i felt to save architectural elements that would have otherwise been destroyed... forever forgotten. towards the end, that mentality was cemented  further, as my as the church came toppling down the morning after the last panels were removed, i felt both relief and a true sense of accomplishment that was much greater then me. i must admit, that was one of the greatest feelings i've had in my "career" of documenting the death of buildings. that is, finally achieving a sense of selflessness - by knowing this work will contribute to preserve a facet of architectural history through elements that can be studied in the future. 

franz xavier zettler established his stained glass company in 1870, during a time when the rebirth of "gothic revival" was gaining momentum through the munich institute of stained glass applied to church art in europe and the united stated. zettler's company achieved its first success with award-winning windows displayed at the 1873 international exhibition at vienna.  by the early 1880's, zettler’s glass studio employed 150 artisans. in 1882 the company was appointed as the “royal bavarian art institute for stained glass” by king ludwig. zettler studios eventually perfected what became known as the “munich style,” which was a method where religious scenes were painted on larger sheets of glass and then fused to the glass through firing in intense heat. this process allowed for a blending of colors not attainable by the old "medieval style," in which any change of color in a scene required a separate piece of colored glass that had to be cut to size and fitted in its own leaded framework. munich style art glass windows contained leaded seams that did not interrupt upon the intricate and heavily detailed scenes portrayed. instead, they were incorporated into the design that made them substantially less noticeable. the munich style allowed for extremely detailed depictions of their subjects. the scenes depicted were heavily influenced by a combination of 19th century european romantic style of painting, along with german baroque style.

zettler is widely recognized as the master of perspective (where an object in the background of a scene is depicted smaller than an object in the foreground to give a sense of depth) and is credited with being the first to use three-point perspective in stained glass windows. zettler’s scenes looked more like the landscaped paintings where background objects are portrayed at different scales than those in the foreground, thus giving the scene a very realistic sense of depth.  the munich style and three-point perspective were later adapted and modified by the great american designer, louis comfort tiffany.  while the latter’s name may be more known to people today, in their own era it was apparent who was the master and who was the student: at the 1893 world’s columbian exposition in chicago, a zettler window won top prize over a tiffany.

zettler, and his royal bavarian art institute, became known for the quality and execution of their designs, clarity of glass despite the utilization of rich use of colors, and their conscious employment of the medium to realize harmonious decorative effects.  the firm also gained a reputation for technological innovations and familiarity with christian iconography.  this allowed them to dominate the "munich style" market in producing windows for churches around the world.

thousands of churches in the united states purchased their windows.  they were especially popular in parishes made up of european immigrants.  zettler windows can be found in such notable american edifices as newark’s sacred heart basilica, philadelphia’s national shrine of st. rita of cascia, immaculate conception cathedral in denver, and st. helena’s cathedral in montana.  st. alphonsus art and cultural center in new orleans – built as a redemptorist church in 1855, (closed in the 1970's) then saved from the wrecking ball in 1990 and named as a national historic landmark six years later – contains windows by zettler.
the royal bavarian art institute windows found in two american parishes have interesting histories.  holy rosary church in cedar, michigan ordered windows from zettler just before the outbreak of world war i.  the firm made the windows, but the war erupted before they could be shipped.  zettler’s firm buried the windows in germany to keep them from being damaged, and then sent them to the u.s. after the conflict ended.  st. mary magdalen in camarillo, california purchased windows in 1913, but did not receive them due to the war.  it was believed that they had been part of a shipment on a freighter which had been destroyed in the atlantic while en route to america. in 1919 the windows were discovered safely packed away in crates in germany, and were then forwarded to their california owners.

most of the royal bavarian art institute’s windows found in this country date from after 1900.  however, the windows in st. martin of tours church were installed by zettler’s firm between 1893-1895.  the fact that st. martin’s was among the institute’s early american customers can probably be attributed to the parish’s german immigrants already being familiar with the firm’s work in the “fatherland.”

when the 20th century began, the mayer and zettler firms were the world’s leading producers of stained glass, employing nearly 500 craftsmen and artists between them.  these firms played an important role in preserving the ancient stained glass throughout the european continent during that turbulent century, being called into action to remove and safeguard windows from many of the great medieval cathedrals during the two world wars.  they also restored many windows damaged by war, weather, and pollution (in fact, the mayer co. was hired by pope st. pius x to restore bernini’s famous holy spirit window at st. peter’s basilica in rome in 1912).

perhaps due to the change in artistic tastes, or its lack of diversification of products, the f.x. zettler co. merged with its rival, mayer & company, in 1939.  this firm, run by a 5th generation member of the mayer family, still does business today.  the company is active in the restoration of europe’s historic castles, churches, and monasteries.  its religious works now include windows and mosaics for synagogues and mosques, and new customers have been found in japan, singapore, egypt, and saudi arabia.  it has produced works for such noble causes as the world peace church in hiroshima, japan and a civil rights memorial in atlanta, georgia.  but, reflecting the secularization of western civilization, many of its works are for the “cathedrals” of our day, including banks, hotels, malls, airports, and the barney’s chain of fashion clothing stores.  many of the works are very modernistic and abstract, a far cry from the detail and orderliness of the munich style.

at the bottom of most of st name of the person or family who donated it to the parish.   in addition to the donors’ names, the names of the royal bavarian art institute for stained glass and f.x. zettler – the master of the munich style – can be seen on several windows.  “professor franz,” as zettler was known to students and admirers, died in 1916 at the age of 75.  there has been of late a renewed interest in and appreciation for the work of this great craftsman.